Just a Dream
by MLG17
Summary: Samantha has to live life after Martin is shot in the line of duty. MS, JS
1. Chapter 1

"It's cold out there," Martin announced as he made his way into the apartment. Samantha looked up from the magazine she had been reading and smiled at Martin.

"You look warm," he said as he made his way over to Samantha and wrapped her in his arms.

"Martin your hands are freezing!" she shuddered as he placed his hand on the back of her neck. He grinned and pulled her closer to him.

"Whatcha reading?" he asked as he stole a glance at the magazine she had in her hand.

"I was actually looking to see if there was anything on TV."

Martin picked up the remote from where it lay on the arm of the couch and started flipping through the channels.

"Then look this way," he teased. Samantha shook her head and placed a kiss on Martin's neck before getting up and heading into the kitchen. She began pulling stuff out of the cabinet to start cooking when before she knew it, Martin was behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist.

"We could go out if you wanted," he suggested.

"A date?"

"Sure, whatever you want," he said as he began kissing her on the neck.

"Sounds like you're trying to get on my good side," she teased.

"Mmm, maybe,"

The shrill ringing from a cell phone in the other room made Martin sigh as he reluctantly release Samantha to go answer the phone.

"Fitzgerald," he muttered. When he sighed again, Samantha realized it must have been Jack calling Martin back into work. He shuffled back into the kitchen and kissed Samantha on the cheek.

"You're lucky you have the day off, it's been rough," he said before slipping out the door and back into the cold of the winter.

After fixing something quick for dinner, Samantha had settled down on the couch, wrapped in a blanket and was watching a movie. Martin had been gone for several hours and Samantha was beginning to wonder where he had gone when she heard a knock on the door. She laughed, figuring Martin had forgotten his keys and locked himself out. She opened the door and was about to make a sarcastic remark when she saw Danny.

"Hey Danny, what's going on?" she asked confused. Danny sighed and shifted his footing. The solemn look that was on his face was starting to scare her.

"Danny, what's wrong?"

"Martin's been shot," he blurted out.


	2. Chapter 2

She entered the waiting room with Danny to see everyone else there too; apparently she was the last to know. Vivian was sitting quietly with a worried look on her face; Elena was sitting next to Vivian looking equally worried, while Jack was pacing the room like a caged tiger.

"How is he?" she asked as soon as she got there.

"It doesn't look good. He's already flat-lined once and they got him back for the time," Jack said and almost as soon as Jack said that the doctor walked out. Everyone's attention was focused on the doctor and his solemn face.

"We lost him," he sighed. Samantha felt her knees buckle and Danny quickly grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. Jack clenched his eyes closed. He felt it was his fault Martin had gotten shot; he was supposed to Martin's back-up and he let him get shot.

"I'm sorry, Sam," Danny whispered as he continued to hold Samantha close.

The funeral had been hard to attend. Martin's family had decided to go with a closed casket funeral and just place a picture of Martin beside it. Martin looked so happy in the picture, grinning goofily almost as if he was about to stick out his tongue. Danny, Elena and Vivian had decided to sit near the front, unlike Samantha, who had chosen to sit at the back of the church. Jack was the last to show up and had slipped in just as the service was about the start; he also sat near the back. Samantha thought that it was possibly the longest and the hardest funeral she had ever attended.

Hours later she was sitting alone in her apartment, Martin was gone, and the apartment was incredibly quiet. She heard a soft tap on the door and knew almost instantly it was Danny.

"Sam?" he called out when she didn't answer. She sat on the couch with her knees pulled against her chest and continued to ignore him; this wasn't the way she wanted him to see her. Jack had called later that afternoon and told her she could have a couple days off, but she had told him that she would rather come into work. She wasn't sure what she was going to do now. Her apartment seemed empty and lonely and the saddest part was that she had told Martin only the day before that she was pregnant.

The next day at work was awkward. Martin's desk was unoccupied and looked depressingly empty--none of Martin's random pictures were there, his Rubix cube was gone and there were no food wrappers of any kind on his desk. Danny's voice behind her startled her and caused her to jump.

"Hey, I would have thought you would have been at home," he said quietly.

"No, it's too depressing there," she said.

Danny nodded, he couldn't imagine how she felt; just coming to work and seeing Martin's desk unoccupied was depressing enough for him.

"You'll get through it," he said, giving her a quick, friendly hug.


	3. Chapter 3

3 months later-

She knew she'd have to tell someone sooner or later. Danny would be the easiest to tell because he was her confidant. She spotted Danny walking toward her with a cup of coffee he'd been sipping on.

"Danny, I need to talk to you," she whispered as she pulled him into the nearest room. Unfortunately for Danny, he had just taken a sip of coffee when she grabbed him.

"What?" he sputtered as he recovered from almost choking to death on his coffee, which Jack happened to see and couldn't decided whether or not to laugh at.

"I need to tell you something,"

"Okay…"

"Danny, I'm pregnant,"

Danny stood there for a second, almost as if he was in shock. It took him a few moments before he finally spoke.

"Congratulations," he said because that was the only thing he knew to say. He flashed her a smile, letting her know he really was happy for her. She smiled back. Danny took that as his sign that it was okay to leave and gave her a quick hug as he slipped out the door. When Samantha left the room, Jack was walking by and almost walked into her.

"Should I ignore that you randomly pulled Danny into a room?"

"Funny," she smirked. It was nice to see her starting to get back to normal.

"Seriously though, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine," she nodded.

Jack nodded and walked into his office and watched at Samantha walked into the bullpen.

He was sitting in his office, staring into the bullpen. For some reason, a particular blond seemed to be someone he couldn't keep his eyes off of, which was making him feel a bit guilty since it had only been three months since Martin been shot and killed. Finally he glanced back at his paper work and was actually getting some work done when someone walked into his office. He knew right away it was Samantha; she was the only one who never knocked, plus she was the only other person there. He didn't look up, though he was curious how long she would stand there and wait for him to say something.

_3, 2, 1…_

"Oh come on, I know you heard me come in," she half muttered.

"Huh? Oh hey," he replied as he tried not to smirk.

"Why are you so funny today, huh? I was going to ask you if you wanted something to eat, but if you'd rather ignore me instead that's fine too," she said, her voice full of sarcasm.

"Hmm let me think, which would I rather do, eat dinner with you or ignore you? I think eating sounds like a wonderful idea," he said as he followed her into the bullpen and took a seat at the conference table that had a pizza box placed in the middle of it.

"Hope pepperoni's okay,"

He nodded; pepperoni was what he usually preferred anyway. Samantha took a seat beside him and tossed him a napkin from the pile, which he failed to catch. They both watched as it fell to the floor and at the same time bent over to get it. Samantha grabbed it first but not-so-accidentally Jack's hand landed on top of hers. They both slowly came up, their eyes met and they both leaned toward each other. Their lips were only an inch or so apart when they heard an almost silent 'oops' come from somewhere. Their heads snapped around to see Danny standing in front of his desk with an awkward grin spreading across his face.

"Hi," he mumbled.

"Hi," Jack replied, rather annoyed at the sudden intrusion.

"I'm just gonna leave," Danny said as he turned and headed back to the elevator.

Once Danny had left, Jack turned back to Samantha and cleared his throat.

"It would have probably been awkward anyway," he said with a sigh.

"Yeah, probably," Samantha agreed.


	4. Chapter 4

Samantha was sitting at her desk, looking through the phone records Jack had assigned her to when Danny strolled over.

"Yes?" she asked, still looking at the papers. Danny stood there rocking back and forth on his heels; he wasn't sure why he was even standing there.

"Sorry about walking into…that last night," he whispered as he shifted his footing, looking around at anything but Samantha. She laughed.

"You know, you shouldn't leave your wallet at work. And it's probably better that you walked in when you did anyway."

He looked confused, nothing really new for Danny, though.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. I'm not even sure as to what last night was really," she mumbled. He grinned.

"Well to me, last night looked like you two were about to kiss." He widened his grin before sending her a wink, which she scoffed at before her eyebrows shot straight up.

"You act like we planned it to happen." Danny shrugged.

"Would you have kissed him?"

"What are we, in high school?"

"You haven't answered me," he quipped.

"Yes. I would have. Okay? Now will you go back over there where you belong and leave me alone?" she asked jokingly. Danny shrugged once again.

"Seriously Sam, it isn't a bad thing. You're moving on, it's good," he said as he walked back to his desk and plopped down in his chair.

Maybe he was right, maybe it was good that she was moving on. She looked out the window at the snow and was glad she was inside where it was warmer.

"Danny," Jack called, causing both Danny and Samantha to jump.

"Yeah, boss?"

"I need you to go check out a lead. Someone said they thought they saw our missing person; here's the address." Jack handed Danny a paper with something scribbled on it before heading back to his office.

"No problem," he mumbled.

"Ha-ha, you have to go out in the snow." As if she needed it rubbed in his face. He stuck out his tongue at Samantha before grabbing his coat and heading to the elevator. Samantha laughed. She was glad she had a fried like Danny; he was one of those once-in-a-lifetime friends. She heard the familiar sound of Jack walking up behind her, his stride unmistakable. He stopped when he got right behind her.

"Yes?" What was it with men walking up behind her and not saying anything.

"Find anything on those phone records?"

"If I had I would have told you," she teased. He shook his head.

"Don't get smart with me," he teased back. "You know I bet it's cold outside."

"I bet you're right,"

Suddenly she wondered what it would feel like to be wrapped up in Jack's arms again, sitting on the couch, leaning her head against his chest, his arms wrapped tightly around her, his rugged breath on the back of her neck, both of them laughing at some crazy Christmas movie.

"What are you doing tonight?" he asked.

"Probably nothing as usual,"

"Why don't we get dinner together, then?"

"Sure," she shrugged. What could it hurt?

They sat in the booth across from each other. Jack's leg kept 'accidentally' rubbing against hers. She would only grin, which encouraged him to do it more. She took a sip from her tea.

"So, anything new going on?" she asked, not able to stand the silence anymore.

"Nothing really…except I have a dog now, thanks to Hannah and Kate,"

"Really?" she said, a grin spreading across her face. She couldn't actually see Jack as a dog person. "What kind?"

"I dunno, just some mutt…he's got the biggest feet, he's a huge pup. Anyway, enough about the dog, anything new with you?" She was quiet for a minute. Should she tell him? Now would be a good time.

"You could say that." The look on his face told her to continue. "I'm pregnant." He blinked. "Really?"

"Yep," she nodded and closed her eyes for a brief moment. The next thing she knew, his hand was on top of hers.

"Hey that's…Congratulations," he said as the corner of his mouth turned up into a genuine smile.

"Thanks," she smiled back sadly.

It didn't take him long to realize she was hurting inside; the look on her face made her seemed lost. He wasn't sure if she was lost because Martin was gone or lost simply because she didn't know how to take the challenge that was coming. His whole face softened as he moved to sit beside her.

"You okay?" he asked. She nodded, closed her eyes and leaned her head on Jack's shoulder. He was her comfort right now, she decided. He sighed and pulled her into a hug.

"Jack, I have to ask you a question,"

"Okay…"

She took a breath. "What was last night? I mean right before Danny walked in," she asked. He brushed a strand of hair out of her face.

"What do you want it to be?"

The question caught her a bit off guard. What _did_ she want it to be? She sighed.

"I-," she didn't finish, just simply leaned up and gave him a quick kiss.

"Are you telling me actions speak louder than words?" he asked. She smiled at him and gave him a short nod.


	5. Chapter 5

After they had eaten dinner together they walked home. It wasn't until they were almost to Jack's apartment that it started raining. They were both soaked by the time they got inside.

"Jeez, I thought, 'Hey five minutes from my apartment it's a little cold but what could happen?' and of course it rains," Jack muttered as he shrugged off his jacket and hung it up before doing the same with Samantha's.

"I'm soaked. And from the looks of things, you are too,"

"Here- I'll be right back," he said as he set off toward his bedroom. The inside of his shoes and his socks were wet so when he trudged across the carpet Samantha had to laugh at the squishy noise his shoes made. Jack returned a few moments later with a t-shirt and some sweatpants.

"These should fit…they're too small for me," he said as a grin spread across his features. "You can, uh, either wear them home, or you can just stay here, but either way I don't want you to catch a cold because you have on wet clothes,"

"Thanks." She grabbed the clothes and slipped into the bathroom to change.

Soaked and about to freeze to death, Jack decided to change too. He kicked off his soggy shoes along with his socks and changed into a pair of dry jogging pants and a t-shirt. When he returned to the living room Samantha was already comfortably sitting on his couch and scrolling through the TV channels. Jack grinned and took a seat in the recliner across from the couch.

"I thought you told me you had a dog?" she said giving Jack a skeptical look.

"I do, but he's in the bedroom right now lying across the foot of my bed," he replied rolling his eyes. He had to admit that he did enjoy the puppy's company, but he'd never admit it. Samantha shook her head. She still couldn't imagine Jack as the type that would have a dog and, even more, couldn't imagine him letting it sleep across the foot of his bed. "I'll make him come in here with me when you want to go to bed."

"Hmm?" she looked a bit confused.

"I figured I would let you have the bed and I would just crash on the couch…if you want to stay here, that is," he explained. She nodded.

"Sounds good."

After feeling a little more comfortable, Jack moved onto the couch and before he knew it, he had his arm draped around Samantha and she had her head lying on his chest. He smiled when he heard her yawn before snuggling deeper into his chest.

"You tired?" he asked and she nodded. "You ready for bed?" Once again she nodded. Jack reluctantly released her from his arms and followed her into the bedroom.

"You can sleep in here. I'll sleep on the couch. If you get cold I have an extra blanket in the closet," he said as he gestured to the closet. He grabbed a pillow and managed something that sounded similar to a whistle.

"Come on, Zeus, we're sleeping in here tonight." Upon hearing his name, Zeus lifted his head and jumped off the bed ready to follow Jack into the next room.

"You named your dog Zeus?" she asked, slightly amused.

"I didn't…well I suggested it, but Hannah actually chose it…Kate wanted to name him Bear." A broad grin filled his face. "I'm going to let you get some sleep," and with that Jack and Zeus headed into the other room.

The next morning Samantha trudged into the living room to see Jack reclined against the arm of the couch and Zeus lying on Jack's legs. She couldn't decide who was snoring louder at this point, Jack or Zeus. Realizing someone was in the room, Zeus looked up and started wagging his tail when he saw Samantha; he jumped off of Jack's legs and ran over to where Samantha was seated in the recliner in hopes of being petted. The sudden weight lifted off of Jack's legs made him stir awake. He smiled when he saw that Samantha was sitting in the recliner and Zeus was lying next to her relishing the fact that someone was petting his thick black fur.

"I take it you and Zeus are getting along pretty good," he mumbled and closed his eyes again. Samantha laughed softly; she knew it took Jack a little while to come around when it was early. She thought it was cute, though--the way his hair randomly stuck up and his eyelids would grow heavy and close again almost as soon as he opened them. She moved to take a seat on the end of the couch and placed her hand on his leg, causing a small grin to cross his face.

"What time is it?" he asked as he lazily opened one eye.

"About 6:30," she replied as she gently started to rub his leg. He closed his eyes again and nodded; they both knew it wouldn't be long before they would have to go into work.

"I guess I should probably get up," he stated with a rather large yawn before sitting up.

Samantha walked toward the bullpen and glanced into Jack's office on the way and was surprised that he had got to work before her. When she left to go to her apartment and get some clothes he was just waking up. She shook her head and continued to the bullpen. As soon as she sat down at her desk, Danny walked over and sat on the edge of her desk. She looked up and glanced into his eyes.

"Is it okay with you if I kill Jack? Please?" he asked. She raised an eyebrow.

"Why would you want to kill Jack?"

"Because I almost froze to death last night when he sent me out in the snow,"

"No," she shook her head.

"No what?"

"No you can't kill Jack!" she said laughing. "Anyway it could have been worse. At least the snow changed to rain,"

"And that's better how? The rain started freezing to the road and I almost wrecked," Danny muttered.

"Almost only counts in horseshoes. You didn't wreck, so you're fine."

Samantha swore she saw him pouting as he walked back to his desk. She heard what sounded like a sneeze. Assuming Danny had a cold from being out in the snow, she turned to him and offered him a 'bless you'.

"I didn't sneeze," Danny replied.

"Then who did?"

"Jack."

She glanced in Jack's office and, sure enough, he sneezed again. She raised an eyebrow and headed into his office. He glanced up and sniffled.

"Hey," he mumbled, congested.

"You're sick," she stated bluntly.

"Thanks for the diagnosis, Dr. Spade," he said sarcastically. "I'm fine."

"You are sick, you're grumpy, sneezing and I can hardly understand what you're saying you're so congested.

"I'm not sick." He sneezed once again and sniffled. "Okay, maybe I'm a little sick, but I'm fine." He crossed his arms across his chest.

Samantha smiled. She usually found his stubbornness annoying, but for some reason at this moment it was almost…cute in a certain way.

"Fine, but you should probably take some cold medicine or something," she suggested.

"I'll manage," he almost grumbled.

She walked over to his desk so that she was standing right next to him, then she glanced up to make sure no one was looked and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.

"Maybe that will help you feel a little better," she said before going back to the bullpen.


	6. Chapter 6

Stakeouts were always wonderful. You sat up all night, hoping to find the suspect and hoping he didn't find you first. It was cold and the heater wasn't doing such a great job trying to heat the interior of the car. The coffee that had been hot an hour ago was now cold and Jack and Samantha both were about to fall asleep. Samantha had considered reclining the seat of the car more than once and Jack was consistently dozing off before shaking his head to try and wake up.

"Alright, I don't think he's showing," Jack muttered after falling asleep for about the sixth time.

"I came to that conclusion…" she paused and glanced at her watch. "…three hours ago."

Jack shook his head. Not only was it three in the morning but they were pretty far from home, which meant either driving all night or getting a hotel.

"We have two options. We can either drive all night or we can try and find a hotel," Jack suggested.

"We're both too tired to drive, Jack, just see where the nearest hotel is."

Finding a hotel in the middle of nowhere wasn't as hard as they thought it would have been. It wasn't anything fancy but it had a bed and a couch. Samantha had settled onto the bed and Jack was as comfortable as could be expected on the couch. Jack was still sick, so after he did finally fall asleep he was breathing pretty loudly through his mouth, which caused a sound similar to a snore. Samantha was lying awake on the bed looking at the ceiling. She had considered putting a pillow over Jack's face, but quickly dismissed the idea due to the fact it could smother him.

"Jack," she called in a whisper. The only response she got was something similar to a snort. "Jack," she called louder this time and he managed to mumble something incoherent.

"You're snoring…"

"Am not," he retorted drowsily.

"Well maybe not snoring but something similar."

She heard him shift around a minute or so before finally lying still, which to her meant he was either comfortable for the time or dead but either way it was quiet enough for her to sleep.

Jack wasn't quiet but a minute or so before he started snoring again. Samantha threw the extra pillow at him and heard it hit him before falling to the floor.

"What?" he muttered groggily.

"You're snoring again."

"Whatever."

She heard him shift around again but apparently this time he couldn't get comfortable. She grabbed her pillow and pulled it over her head, managing to smother out most of the rustling of the blankets.

The next morning Samantha was awake before Jack, and she wasn't actually sure she had gone to sleep. Jack shifted on the couch a minute before sitting up and rubbing at his face.

"Morning," he greeted with a smile. Samantha only glared at him slightly and decided right away that he was too cheery for her liking at this moment.

"Whatever," she grumbled.

"What's wrong with you? Didn't get a lot of sleep?"

"I couldn't sleep between you snoring and the neighbor's dog barking," she growled.

"My snoring used to not bother you," he stated with a shrug.

She glared at him again before getting up and walking into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. When she came back out of the bathroom, Jack was still sitting in the same place.

"Are you planning on moving or sitting there all day?" she grumbled.

"Come here," he said as he motioned for her to sit next to him. She raised an eyebrow but walked over and sat next to him anyway.

"What?" she asked flatly. She was waiting for a response when she felt Jack's warm hands on her shoulders massaging them.

"What's wrong?" he asked concerned as he continued to rub her shoulders and back. She sighed and leaned back against him.

"I'm just tired. You were snoring and the person next door had some yippy dog or something, so between the two I got little if no sleep," she explained.

"I'm sorry," Jack admitted before pulling Samantha closer to him and resting his head on her shoulder. She sighed again. She wanted to tell him that on top of being tired she was still having a hard time getting over Martin and wasn't sure if she wanted to rush into another relationship. Jack was great, no doubt, and a part of her was falling for him again but another part of her was still hurting.

"You miss him don't you?"

The question took her a bit off guard. She sighed and tried to form a response.

"Yes," she answered honestly. Jack nodded and slowly removed his hands from her shoulder.

"I understand," he said with a comforting smile. "And I understand if you don't want to get into another relationship for a while but whatever you decide just remember that I'll always be here for you." He surprised her by abruptly standing up and going into the bathroom.

The ride back home was almost uncomfortably quiet. Jack had done nothing but focus on the road the whole time and Samantha couldn't help but wonder if it had something to do with their short conversation earlier.

"Jack?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?"

The corner of his mouth twitched up as if he was about to say something and then he frowned.

"I'm fine."

"Okay." She knew not to press him too much so she changed the subject, at least then they would be talk.

"Danny's coming over tomorrow to help put the crib together." She paused. "You want to come over and help?"

He grinned and shook his head before nodding.

"Sure, I can come help… I don't know how much help I'll actually be, but I'll come." He continued to smile; at least he wouldn't be spending his weekend alone.


	7. Chapter 7

Samantha stood in the doorway and watched as Danny tried to figure out how to put the crib together. Of course he had thrown the instructions on the other side of the room, stating that he didn't need them and it wouldn't be that hard. He had shown up over an hour ago and Samantha wondered how he hadn't froze to death being that he was in shorts and a pullover hooded sweatshirt, but he still had not even pieced together any of the crib.

"I think it's defective," he mumbled as he eyed the pieces again.

"I don't think it's the crib that's defective,"

"Funny," he smirked and paused when he heard someone at the door. Samantha left Danny sitting in the middle of the floor and set off to answer the door. She pulled open the door to see Jack on the other side looking as if he was about to freeze.

"Hey," she stepped out of the way and watched as he entered the apartment and hung his coat over the back of the chair.

"Hey," he said returning the greeting. They were interrupted by something hitting the floor and Danny cursing.

"You okay?" Samantha called.

"Just cut myself a bit," he called back. Samantha groaned and hoped he wasn't bleeding too badly because she really didn't want to have to scrub blood out of her carpet. She and Jack walked into what was to be the nursery to see Danny sitting in the floor clutching the side of his hand; fortunately he wasn't bleeding all over the place.

"Jack, please help him,"

Jack grinned and immediately walked over to where Danny had thrown the instructions, picked them up and began reading them.

"It can't be that hard," Danny complained.

"How long have you been sitting there trying to put it together without the instructions?" he asked. Danny remained quiet. "That's what I thought."

Jack grabbed the screwdriver from Danny and sat down in the floor.

"Hand me that piece," he instructed, pointing to one of the pieces Danny had piled up.

After about an hour they had most of the crib put together. All they had left to do was to put the thin mattress in.

"After you do that, you want to put the changing table together?" Samantha teased and earned a glare from Danny and a chuckle from Jack.

"Sure. Why not?" Jack replied sarcastically. Danny glared at Jack before falling onto his back and letting out an overdramatic groan.

"How about if you do put it together, I'll buy pizza?" Samantha suggested.

"Sounds good," Jack and Danny answered together. Samantha grinned and headed to the kitchen to get both Jack and Danny a soda. While she was standing in the kitchen, she could hear Jack and Danny arguing something about Danny holding a piece to the table upside down. When she walked back into the room, she tossed each of them a can of soda.

"Thanks," they called together.

Samantha glanced around the nursery, taking in the work that Jack and Danny had done.

"Okay, I guess you deserve a pizza," she said with a shrug. So she headed back into her kitchen to grab her phone. After she placed the order for the pizza and they told her about how long it would be, she joined Jack and Danny in the living room. Jack was sitting on her couch with his feet propped onto her coffee table, which she slightly glared at, causing Jack to grin sheepishly. Danny was simply sitting on the other side of the couch with his head laid back against the back of it, almost asleep. Samantha was forced to sit between the two of them. Samantha decided to put in a movie and wait until the pizza got there. About five minutes into the movie, she could swear she heard Danny snoring.

Sometime between the time that Samantha had put the movie in and a few minutes before the pizza got there, Jack had managed to place his arm around her shoulders and she was leaning against him slightly. When the pizza finally arrived, Samantha had to wake Danny.

"If you don't wake him that's more pizza for us," Jack told her with a grin.

"Jack," she scolded lightly. "Danny. Wake up." She teasingly swatted him on the back of the head a few times before he finally woke up.

"Remind me to never go to sleep at your place again," he chuckled as the rubbed the back of his head.

"Should there really be a reason that you're sleeping here in the first place?" Jack asked with one eyebrow raised. Danny sat there a minute before blinking a few times and shaking his head.

"So about that pizza," he started as he grabbed a slice from the box. Jack and Samantha mimicked his actions and grabbed a slice themselves.

After eating their pizza, Samantha and Danny were going to watch a movie. They had asked Jack to stay but he had insisted he needed to get home and feed his dog. So they ended up watching the movie without him.

"So how is it going between you and Jack?" Danny asked, breaking the silence in the room.

"Difficult." It was an honest answer. It had always been difficult between those two, but Samantha was hoping it would get better soon.

"He loves you," Danny stated bluntly. She knew that, but how Danny knew that was another question completely. She nodded, which apparently wasn't the reaction Danny was expecting because he was looking at her doubtfully.

"I know that, Danny, and honestly I love him but it's difficult. I mean what am I going to do when the baby gets here? I can't ask Jack to wait for me."

"Why would he need to wait for you?" Danny asked.

"I can't expect him to help me raise a kid that isn't even his."

Danny looked at her and shook his head.

"He loves you and I don't think he would really mind helping you raise Martin's kid. You know he blames himself for what happened."

Samantha looked at him almost as if she was confused. She wondered why Jack would blame himself for Martin's accident. Danny was quiet a minute before asking.

"He never told you, did he?" Samantha shook her head and Danny continued. "Jack was with Martin that night. They chased the suspect into an empty warehouse and were supposed to wait for backup. But Martin said that it wasn't enough time because it was freezing and without finding the suspect they would never find the kid. So Jack and Martin went into the warehouse to find the suspect. They had gone in different directions and before Jack knew it, gunshots were ringing out through the entire warehouse."

Samantha sat there and tried to take in what Danny had just told her.

"I didn't know that…" she said in a shaky voice. Danny nodded and placed a hand on Samantha's shoulder.

"I'm here for you, Sam. You know that, right?"

"I know," she nodded.

If it was one thing she had figured out in the last five months it was that she had some of the greatest friends in the world.


	8. Chapter 8

The only sounds that could be heard throughout the bullpen were a stifled yawn, the sound of a pen hitting the floor from a desk, and a very distant conversation. Jack sat at his desk; the only sound really evident to him was the sound of his thoughts racing rapidly through his mind. He wondered how a day could go straight to hell in a matter of minutes. Everything had been all right up until the kidnapper had taken their missing child hostage. Jack had tried so hard to negotiate with the man but the man had panicked, shot the child, then seeing no way out, shot himself. Jack hated cases like this-- the ones that made you feel responsible for what had happened even if it wasn't really your fault. Samantha's words still rang in his ears, "There was nothing you could do." He supposed it was the normal thing to say when you were trying to make someone feel better. He felt he had let so many people down, though.

The minutes he was planning on staying over somehow turned into an hour, then two, then before he realized it several hours had ticked away, just like that. He was leaning back in his chair, watching the seconds tick away on his watch. The only time that actually seemed to have value tonight had been the two long hours they had fought, only to have little Tommy end up shot before his kidnapper turned the gun on himself. After that, time seemed to have little if no value at all. He was still pondering his thoughts when his cell phone rang, bringing him back to the present.

"Malone," he answered gruffly.

"You should go home, Jack," Samantha's gentle voice replied. The slightest hint of a smile crossed Jack's face.

"How do you know I'm not?" he asked, almost sure of himself.

"Because I know you. And I have a good idea that you're sitting at your desk thinking about what happened today." Jack's end of the line grew quiet for several seconds. "Jack?"

"Yeah, I'm here. I'm just trying to figure out how you knew that," he answered.

"It's either that or you're sitting at a bar drowning your pain in a glass of whiskey. I know you aren't at your apartment because I was there just a few minutes ago."

"All I'll do if I go home is sit on my couch, with Zeus, still thinking about what happened," he answered quietly.

"I told you before that it wasn't your fault." Jack's end of the line grew quiet again. "Jack, you listen to me. It wasn't your fault, there was nothing you could do."

"All I needed was a little more time," he whispered.

"You could have had all the time in the world and it wouldn't have mattered. Jack, you know that when someone panics it always goes down bad, so don't you think for a minute that you could have changed what happened. I know that if there was anything else in the world that you could have done, you would have done it."

"It seems like all I can do lately is let people down." Emotion was beginning to become clear in his voice as his thoughts started to race again.

"That's not true." She was trying to soothe him but had the feeling that she was failing.

"Yes it is. I let Tommy down, I let his parents down…I let Martin down…I let you down." His voice was getting softer and more emotional by the second.

"No, you haven't. When is it going to get through to you that you can't control the outcome of a situation?" she asked calmly. When he didn't answer, she continued her thought. "What happened today was just one of those bad cases. It bothers me too. You surely haven't let me down, though. You were here for me in one of the hardest situations I've had in my life. Thank you for that." At that point all she wanted to do was hug him and try and help him fight his inner demons away. She wondered how someone so gruff and tough on the outside could be so easily hurt and carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah…" He sounded unsure of himself as if just testing the words to see if they fit.

"Would you like me to come over for a little while?"

"If you want to," he said and she knew that it translated into more of a 'Yes but I'm leaving the decision up to you.'

"Okay, I'll meet you at your apartment."

His apartment was quiet; in fact, she wasn't even sure he was there until she spotted his lone figure sitting in the small, poorly lit kitchen, drinking something. She placed the key she had back into her pocket before joining him at the counter. Once she was seated next to him, he glanced over at her long enough for her to catch his eyes. It wasn't until then that she realized how much this case affected him; she didn't think it was possible, but Jack Malone looked lost. She placed a gentle touch onto his arm and his shoulders seemed to relax a little.

"Hey," she whispered gently, breaking the silence.

"Hey."

They sat in silence for several moments until a soft laugh, similar to a scoff escaped past his lips. He rubbed at his face as if trying to erase the horrid memories from his mind before he shook his head and started to speak quietly.

"He was only ten years old, Sam, ten years old. It shouldn't happen like that."

Samantha gave him a sorrowful smile, then gently rubbed her hand across his back and rested it on his shoulder.

"I know." Silence enveloped the room again and it seemed that was how it was going to go on all night. Silence before one of them would softly speak, then silence again. She could tell that Jack wanted to say something because of the frustrated sigh that he kept releasing, which meant that he either couldn't get up the courage to say it or wasn't sure how to word it.

"I…would you…" He released another frustrated sigh before closing his eyes as if bringing himself together. "Would you just…you know…stay with me tonight? I know it sounds incredibly selfish and I shouldn't even be asking and I totally understand if you don't want to but…" He was still rambling on when Samantha leaned in and placed a soft kiss on his cheek, causing him to stop.

"You've been here for me, the least I do is repay the favor," she replied with a small grin on her face, and for the first time that night Jack smiled back.


	9. Chapter 9

The thunder crackled as lightning lit up the sky and the bedroom

The thunder crackled as lightning lit up the sky and the bedroom. Samantha slid deeper under the covers as Jack rolled over and placed his arm around her. The thunder hadn't even really awakened him, just stirred him awake enough for him to roll over. Samantha snickered under her breath. She was a light sleeper so the first crack of thunder thirty minutes ago had awakened her and she hadn't gone back to sleep. Jack, on the other hand, seemed to be able to sleep through anything. She swore that a bomb could have gone off in his closet and he wouldn't know anything about it until the next morning when he went to get dressed. Jack mumbled something incoherent in his sleep before snorting and rolling onto his stomach. Samantha raised her eyebrows in amusement before leaning back into the pillows.

She hadn't really expected Jack to ask her to stay with him tonight. She knew at the time he was hurting and trying to seek out comfort in anyway possible and it seemed that she was the only person he really confided in. Even after all the talking they had done tonight, though, he still hadn't really explained to her why this case had affected him so much. All he had really told her was that it was because Tommy was so young, but she was sure it was more than that. Cases that involved children always affected him as well as the rest of the team, but this was the first time she had ever seen him look so vulnerable over a case. He was tired, worried, and seemed to be second-guessing a lot lately, which caused her to worry about him a lot. He really wasn't himself.

Jack produced another deep snort before coughing, sputtering and sitting up. Samantha looked at him, vaguely surprised and startled by his random fit. He glanced at her sleepily before rubbing at his eyes.

"What time is it?" he whispered with a yawn.

"About 5:30." He nodded and lay back down, rolling over so that his back was facing her. She sighed and lay down next to him, resting her chin on his shoulder.

"Jack?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you okay?" He rolled over to face her and saw the concern in her eyes. He nodded and brushed a loose strand of hair out of her face.

"Yeah," he was trying to reassure her but it wasn't really working. She nodded and watched as he rolled over again. The room grew silent again and she had assumed he had gone back to sleep, when he spoke.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm not okay." Another crack of thunder and Jack had turned to face her once again.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she ran her fingers gently through his hair. She watched as he closed his eyes and leaned into her touch.

"Sam, I knew him." He paused. "I knew Tommy." He cleared his throat to try and get rid of the lump that was forming before taking a breath to compose himself. "He was my neighbor's kid at my old apartment. It was kind of funny on mornings when I would get up late, the poor kid would need to go to the bus stop, so he would follow me all the way down the hallway and outside until I got to my car, talking his head off." A small smile crossed his features as he recalled the memory.

"I'm so sorry Jack," she said as she wrapped her arms around him.

"It wasn't your fault,"

"I still feel bad for you." She placed a kiss on his forehead and continued to hold him in her embrace.

After an hour of holding onto each other, they had still made no attempt to move, at least until Zeus came in and jumped onto Jack's bed, panting hysterically in Jack's face and then running for the front door of Jack's apartment.

"He needs to go ou," Jack stated, as if it wasn't obvious enough.

"Take him for a walk, I'll still be here when you get back."

"You want to go?" She shrugged and nodded.

"Sure why not."

Once they were both dressed, Jack grabbed Zeus' leash and hooked it to his collar before opening the door and starting out into the fairly warm morning. After taking a deep breath of air, Samantha smiled and slipped her arm around Jack's waist. He smiled back and returned the favor by wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to him. At this point she wasn't really worried if anyone saw them or not. Zeus was walking back and forth in front of Jack, trying his best to wrap the leash around his legs, which he had fallen for once, literally, and wasn't planning on it happening again.

"Zeus, stop," Jack scolded. Zeus looked up at Jack and barked. Samantha half expected Jack to tell the dog not to talk back, but to her surprise he didn't. Jack glanced over at Samantha and smiled. After he had continued to gaze at her a few seconds, a curious look passed her features.

"What?" she inquired playfully.

"Nothing." He turned his attention back to Zeus with a smirk plastered on his face. He realized that her gaze had never left his, so he took a breath before speaking.

"I was just wondering if you would give me the chance to show you how much I really care about you," he asked as he continued to look straight ahead.

"Really?" she was slightly amused at his sudden honesty.

"Yes. I want to help you. I want to help you raise this child. I want to be there for you in any way I can."

"You're serious, aren't you?" She was shocked that he would openly confess how he felt, right on the streets of New York, but one look into those eyes of his told her just how serious he was.

"Yeah." She glanced into his eyes and could see the depths of his soul and realized that in that moment, there was nothing she could say or do to change his mind.


	10. Just a Note

This isn't a story update, yet. But I've recently gotten back into writing after being out of it for a while. And if people are still interested in this story, I'll do my best to wrap it up with another chapter or two. Anyone still reading?


	11. Chapter 10

**-Author's Note: Okay guys, this is it. The last chapter. I finally boiled this thing down to a finish. Any grammatical errors found are purely mine, as this is an un-betaed copy, simply because I just wanted to go ahead and get it up. I hope you guys enjoy it, I really wrestled a lot with how to finish it off, and this idea just kind of hit me at work. I'm sorry it too so long to finish, but without further ado, here it is.-**

_There was a peaceful silence inside the Malone household, and Samantha smiled. It was what she had always dreamed of. The love of her life asleep beside her, the family dog curled up on the floor at the foot of the bed, and her son safely asleep at the end of the hallway. Yes. This was definitely an acceptable new life for Samantha. The silence was interrupted by a loud snort and an abrupt jerking of Jack's foot back under the blanket._

_"Zeus!" he mumbled, grumpily. "Stop licking my foot."_

_She tried to hold back a laugh, but failed. A muffled giggle escaped._

_"I see nothing amusing about this," he mock-grumbled._

_"Maybe he likes the taste of Goldbond."_

_"I hope his tongue swells up. Here," he rubbed his foot against her leg. "Have some sticky, dog saliva and foot powder."_

_She pulled her leg away and playfully scrunched up her face._

_"Ew."_

_Jack couldn't help but smile at how cute she was. The one thing that made it even better was that she was his, and he had a gold band to prove it. The past four years had treated him well. They had gotten married shortly after he had committed to helping Sam care for the baby. _

_Then the baby was born. There had been a few minor bumps in the road. A pre-mature birth was their biggest scare. 3lbs 1oz was not a size either of them had been comfortable with. In fact, Jack could remember his daughters having dolls smaller. None the less, they ended up with a healthy baby boy; Coleman Elijah Malone._

_Being new parents together had been quite an experience. Jack wasn't completely unfamiliar with the basics, but it was different with a baby Coleman's size. Diapers were smaller, clothes were smaller, even the bottles had been different. Those weren't the only setbacks either. They had ended up changing formulas several times before finding one that didn't bother his sensitive stomach, but they managed. Through blood, sweat, and tears, they made it through that intense period of life._

"_Listen," Samantha stated, interrupting his trip down memory lane. He raised a lazy brown and strained to hear something._

"_Hm?"_

"_Silence."_

_No sooner had the words left her mouth, did they both hear the rumbling of foot-steps coming down the hallway. Zeus lifted his head and snorted as if mentally bracing for the 4-year-old that was about to wrap him in a huge hug. Jack smirked. 'Poor guy,' he thought._

"_Zeush!" Coleman announce, bounding into the room. Jack watched as a bundle of blonde hair and freckles, clad in Phineus and Ferb pajamas tackled the giant German Shepherd. _

"_Easy, Cole," Jack softly scolded. "Zeus can't handle but so much this early."_

"_Yesh, sir." _

"…I just want you guys to understand how important this day is. It isn't the end of journey, but in all actuality, the beginning..." Jack was brought out of his memory by the sound of his son's voice. "…We're all going on to bigger, better things; careers, colleges, but most of all, life. We did it, guys! We made it! We are the graduating class of 2015!"

Jack and Samantha beamed with pride, as any parents of the valedictorian would. 18 years had flown by. It seemed like only yesterday they had been changing diapers, or listening to Jack rant about melting any Lego block he could find to keep from demolishing his foot in the middle of the night. The late nights of sitting up due to stomach aches, or sleeping in due to snow days had finally passed. Their son was now an adult.

Everyone stood to clap, amazed at the young man's speech. Then, it was time for the big moment, for every graduate to walk across the stage and receive their ticket into adult-hood, their diploma. The students walked across, one by one, stopping for a brief moment for the camera to capture the memory.

"…Stephanie Nicole Maes, Coleman Elijah Malone…" Coleman stood, a smile beaming across his face, and walked across the stage, accepting his diploma graciously. A small section of the audience went nuts, and inside Coleman wanted to laugh. He knew how proud every one of them was of him. Danny, Vivian, Elena, and his parents had coached him along and encouraged him every step of the way.

"You did good, son," Jack complimented, hugging Coleman tight. "We're proud of you."

"Extremely proud," Samantha added in, grabbing a hug of her own. As she held him in her embrace, part of her never wanted to let go. It was only a matter of days before he would be leaving to become even more of a man than he was now. He had chosen the Marines as his career choice, to become one of the few and the proud, and though she was impressed with him, she was also scared to death. A motherly instinct, she supposed, to fear for her son's well being, but she knew he would be safe, he was a smart man.

"You'll do just fine as a Marine," Jack said, and added almost as an afterthought. "Damn fine."

If anyone could survive the Marines, it was Coleman. He had always had a tactical mind, prone to problem solving and any kind of puzzle he could find, and Jack was truly confident in that. He reminded him much of Martin; goofy in ways, but when it boiled down to it, damn good at anything he wanted to do. In that moment, Jack realized just how much Coleman was like Martin; blond hair, steel blue eyes, and a quirky grin. Whatever doubt he may have had, vanished in that moment when he realized he was standing next to Martin Fitzgerald's carbon copy.

'_Yes.'_ He thought. '_This kid will definitely go far.'_


End file.
